Christian Bale Leads His People In First Photo For Ridley Scott's Exodus

Brush up on your Bible facts, boys and girls. The coming year is going to be filled with epic fare plucked from the pages of the Old Testament, starting with Darren Aronofsky’s Noah and concluding with Sir Ridley Scott’s Exodus. The Christian Bale-led feature teased its first-look photo with the Web, and we’re please to share it above.

Empire ran the image, which shows the bearded Bale as Moses, a great leader who ventures with the "chosen" people into the Promised Land. When you mention that Scott will direct a movie about Moses, you start to wonder how much of the man’s life will make it on screen. Will we see the baby in the basket? Will there be a burning bush? Do we start with Moses in Egypt, inspiring the people and leading them to the land of Canaan? There are several milestones that can be touched in the story of Moses, from trips to Mount Sinai to the handing out of the Ten Commandments. Needless to say, Exodus could be 11 hours long. (Or, it could be like The Counselor and only feel like it’s 11 hours long.)

We see a grown Bale (shifting his image once again) on a healthy horse in this photo, suggesting that he will be a Moses "of the people," a man ready to lead a march to better times. There’s no doubt there will be several Red Sea partings in this man’s future.

Obviously, that’s Charlton Heston as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 film The Ten Commandments, and it highlights one of the many reasons why one tries an Old Testament movie today. Effects are far better in 2014, meaning the fantastical elements of most Bible stories, we hope, can come across with more power. Watch Aronofsky’s flood waters in the Noah clip that arrived online the other day:

Scott also has had a lot of luck with epic stories, from Gladiator to the extended cut of Kingdom of Heaven. The idea of him conquering a Moses story has us intrigued, and more than a little excited. He also has surrounded Bale with a stellar support cast, from the underrated Joel Edgerton to Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver and Sir Ben Kingsley. Exodus is marching towards a Dec. 12, 2014 release date. Will it be a major hit for Scott, and a possible Oscar contender for 20th Century Fox? Time will tell.